SPEED READ Employee share trusts have an appeal for both public quoted companies and for private companies. For the public quoted companies, the main advantages are to hedge against share price rises whereas for the private companies, there is the additional advantage of establishing a market for the shares in the absence of a recognised stock exchange for the trading of the shares. Whether sponsored by either a public quoted company or a private company the employee share trust has the opportunity to develop as a commercial entity in its own right as it acquires and sells the shares of the sponsoring company.